This is not the Hyundai Elantra Touring I initially said I was going to get. Instead, I realized that if I got the Touring, I'd probably always wonder about the Subaru Impreza wagon, but if I got the Impreza, I likely wouldn't wonder about the Touring. That plus talking with rhysara about her 2009 Impreza wagon and it regularly getting better than rated mileage got me to change my mind.

I have acquired a new car; I picked it up this morning. Pictures coming Tuesday because I foolishly left the data cable for my Treo at work. After acquiring the new car, I took it out for a drive. On this drive, it got a name: Bixby, and a gender: male. I don't know why he is named Bixby, but that is his name. Two of my past three cars had names.

Marvin was a 1984 Plymouth Turismo that I got in 1992. He was a cranky car, and occasionally required me to pop the hood and fiddle with a butterfly valve on the carburetor to get him to start in cold weather. So of course I named him after Marvin the Paranoid Android.

Mercl (pronounced 'merkle') was a 1989 Mercury Tracer that I got in 1995. Mercl had his name written right on him. The Mercury name had broken off at the right upright of the U, leaving MERCL on the back of the car.

The Miata never had a name, but did get called "the little zippy car" quite often, so that may have sufficed.

lizzielizzie is a goddessShe took me to where my wrecked car wasSo I could get all my stuff out of itAnd helped take the plates off in the sunEven though it was well over 90 degrees outsideThen drove me to get a rental carSpotted far more wrong with it than I did(How did all those dents get in the roof?)In my still semi-addled state(An accident will do that)And waited until I was in the carReady to drive awaylizzielizzie is a goddess.

kazmat is a goddessShe came from work to pick me upAt the McDonald's where the policeman dropped me offAfter dealing with the accident I was inAnd took me back to my placeShe stayed and listened to me blither as I came offThe massive adrenalin rushAnd distracted me with her own storieskazmat is a goddess.

One in a likely long series of ways not to start your day: single-car accident on an interstate. If you were stuck behind a gang of rubberneckers on I-495 north just before the 113 exit shortly after 10 AM on the 17th, that was me. In trying to avoid hitting a large chunk of tire in the lane, I not only failed to miss the chunk of tire, I also lost control, swerved several times, bounced off a guard rail, and came to rest across the left lane of 495. I had the presence of mind to back out of the roadway.

I didn't hit anyone else. I have superficial welts and scrapes from the airbag deploying. The car is not so fine, with both the left front and left rear corners damaged, the coolant system breached (might be the radiator, might be just a hose), the left front wheel likely rubbing the inside of the wheel well, and who knows what else wrong.

The insurance company has told me to expect the car to be totaled -- not surprising, given a nine year old car with significant damage. I have a rental (covered by insurance, excellent) that doesn't even come close to being a Miata. It's a Kia Spectra.

Given that I expect the Miata to be totaled, I am likely in the market for a new car. I'm looking for either another convertible or a hatchback, preferably one with a roof that opens. Right now the top of my list is the Mazda M3, but I'm open to other suggestions.

The Lowell Folk Festival is this weekend, 24-26 July. It has lots of traditional folk music from around the world (i.e., no stereotypical singer-songwriters a la Christine Lavin or Bob Dylan), such as New Orleans jazz, zydeco, klezmer, Tuvan throat singing, and other fun stuff. There's all sorts of traditional ethnic food as well.

I saw my third movie this year: Batman Begins (no, I had not seen it before). Of the cast on screen, I recognized exactly one actor: Morgan Freeman. So, for my entertainment (and possibly yours), I list the places, if any, I have seen or heard the other first-billed actors.

I know some of you visit or live in Maine, so I present the following for my (and my brother's) edification:

My brother and his wife are planning a trip to Maine, likely this summer, for their 10th anniversary. They're looking for places to go. My brother dearly loves wild areas, and the one thing currently on his list is Acadia National Park.

About an hour ago, I got back from Times Square (OK, 55th St and 7th Ave) after standing in a huge crowd with jiapa and watching the balldrop.

We ended up chatting with two other people we randomly met while out there -- turns out I was the only non-doctor of the group, very weird. (He was a pathologist, she was a cytologist, and jiapa does internal medicine.)

The ball was a distinctly round thing way off in the distance. Given this new one was 12' in diameter vs the old ones which were only 6', I can only wonder how people at my distance (13 blocks!) could see it in the past.

I'm glad I did it. I think I will be satisfied from now on with sitting at home and watching it on TV.

I am pondering acquiring a bicycle, and am looking for recommendations. I would use it for two primary purposes:

1) Riding from my condo to the train station. This is a distance of about a mile, over cobblestone, brick, wood, and asphalt pavement. (Mostly asphalt, with cobblestone a significant second.) There are bike racks in the parking garage at the train station.

2) Grocery shopping. The store I usually go to is about 2.5 miles away; there's a closer one that isn't as good about a mile away. Either way, I'm still facing the same pavement mix as above. I have not looked for bike parking at either store, but I believe there is none.

I may also use a bike for random short rides around the area. I am unlikely to take up any sort of long distance, competitive, or significant unpaved riding (though there may be a bit of unpaved riding here and there).

Any additions to a bike for carrying groceries should be either easily removed or so integral to the bike that it would require significant disassembly of the bike to get them off -- to prevent theft when they're not in use. (I'd prefer the former, and just bring them into the store with me.)

I would prefer regular bike pedals so I don't have to change shoes when I get where I'm going. I vastly prefer drop handlebars to straight ones.

If you should find yourself in New York City, take the 1 train to 110th St., get off, and walk one block south to the corner of Broadway and 109th St. Go into the restaurant on the southeast corner of that intersection and order the BBQ Beef Short Ribs. Die happy.